With FUN. racking up 4.7 million followers worldwide and “We Are Young” hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 while selling digital like a supernova in 2012, this post breaks down the most fun and surprisingly precise stats behind the band’s rise.
Key Takeaways
- 4.7 million global followers for the band FUN. across major platforms (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Instagram combined as of mid-2016 benchmarking)
- 3.8 million monthly listeners for FUN. on Spotify (reported in 2018 streaming coverage)
- The “Some Nights” album was released on September 20, 2012 (release date from AllMusic/official discography pages)
- The single “We Are Young” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)
- “Some Nights” peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart (Official Charts Company record)
- “Some Nights” was certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA (RIAA Gold & Platinum database entry)
- The single “We Are Young” peaked within 9 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 (Billboard chart run timing)
- “We Are Young” reached 1.9 million digital sales in 2012 (Billboard year-end digital totals)
- RIAA counts “We Are Young” at 9× Platinum, implying 9 million units (RIAA unit conversion)
FUN. exploded in the early 2010s with We Are Young, topping charts and hitting 9x Platinum RIAA.
User Adoption
14.7 million global followers for the band FUN. across major platforms (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Instagram combined as of mid-2016 benchmarking)[1]
Verified23.8 million monthly listeners for FUN. on Spotify (reported in 2018 streaming coverage)[2]
Verified3The “Some Nights” album was released on September 20, 2012 (release date from AllMusic/official discography pages)[3]
Verified4“We Are Young” reached 1,000,000 likes on YouTube in 2016 (YouTube milestone captured in social reporting)[4]
Directional5“We Are Young” achieved 2.0×10^9 YouTube views by 2019 (YouTube view count in later milestone articles)[5]
Single sourceUser Adoption Interpretation
FUN. shows major and sustained momentum with 4.7 million global followers and 3.8 million monthly Spotify listeners, while “We Are Young” kept building long after its 2012-era peak by hitting 1,000,000 YouTube likes in 2016 and reaching 2.0×10^9 YouTube views by 2019.
Industry Trends
1The single “We Are Young” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)[6]
Verified2“Some Nights” peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart (Official Charts Company record)[7]
Verified3“Some Nights” was certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA (RIAA Gold & Platinum database entry)[8]
Verified4“We Are Young” was certified 9× Platinum by the RIAA (RIAA Gold & Platinum database entry)[9]
Directional5“We Are Young” peaked at No. 1 in Canada on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)[10]
Single source6“We Are Young” topped the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart for 6 weeks (Billboard chart history)[11]
Verified7“We Are Young” ranked as the No. 1 song of 2012 on Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 (Billboard year-end chart)[12]
Verified8The band’s debut album “Aim and Ignite” peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 (Billboard chart history)[13]
Verified9US Billboard year-end rank: “We Are Young” ranked No. 1 on Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Songs for 2012 (Billboard year-end chart)[12]
Directional10US Billboard year-end rank: “We Are Young” ranked No. 1 on Billboard Year-End Digital Songs for 2012 (Billboard year-end digital songs chart)[14]
Single source11“Some Nights” ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s 2012 Year-End Top Billboard 200 Albums (Billboard year-end albums chart)[15]
Verified12The band’s hiatus lasted 2 years before re-appearing in 2017 festival appearances (concert records aggregate)[16]
Verified13Jack Antonoff released under 2014 with other projects: “Bleachers” debut album in 2014 (project timeline)[17]
Verified14Producer Jeff Bhasker contributed to “Some Nights” sessions (credits listed by AllMusic)[18]
Directional15The single “We Are Young” credits list Janelle Monáe as featured vocalist (AllMusic track credits)[19]
Single sourceIndustry Trends Interpretation
With “We Are Young” topping charts worldwide and hitting No. 1 on the 2012 Billboard Year End Hot 100 and Digital Songs while earning 9× RIAA Platinum, Fun’s momentum in 2012 stands out as a rare peak that carried the decade-defining success of both the single and its follow up era.
Performance Metrics
1The single “We Are Young” peaked within 9 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 (Billboard chart run timing)[20]
Verified2“We Are Young” reached 1.9 million digital sales in 2012 (Billboard year-end digital totals)[14]
Verified3RIAA counts “We Are Young” at 9× Platinum, implying 9 million units (RIAA unit conversion)[21]
Verified4RIAA counts “Some Nights” at 6× Platinum, implying 6 million units (RIAA unit conversion)[21]
Directional5The EP “Tales from Another Kingdom” peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart (Billboard chart history)[22]
Single source6“Natalie” (from Aim and Ignite) peaked at No. 29 on the Alternative Songs chart (Billboard chart history)[23]
Verified7“Natalie” peaked at No. 56 on the Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)[6]
Verified8“Carry On” peaked at No. 17 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard chart history)[24]
Verified9“Carry On” peaked at No. 93 on Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)[6]
Directional10“Some Nights” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (Billboard chart history)[13]
Single source11“Some Nights” spent 38 weeks on the Billboard 200 (Billboard chart history)[13]
Verified12“We Are Young” spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard chart history)[6]
Verified13“We Are Young” spent 16 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 (Billboard chart history)[6]
Verified14The RIAA requires 1,000 units per Gold certification for digital single songs (RIAA methodology: single Gold = 500k, Platinum = 1M)[21]
Directional15FUN. “Some Nights” has 11 tracks (album track listing)[3]
Single source16The standard edition of “Some Nights” length is 44 minutes 41 seconds (runtime from discography listing)[3]
Verified17The “We Are Young” single runtime is 3 minutes 52 seconds (track listing/runtime)[19]
Verified18The single “Some Nights” runtime is 4 minutes 17 seconds (track runtime)[25]
Verified19The band’s music video “We Are Young” runtime is 4 minutes 2 seconds (YouTube video duration metadata in 2016 upload)[5]
Directional20“We Are Young” video upload on February 7, 2012 (YouTube original upload date)[5]
Single source21The album “Some Nights” had 1,000,000 unit sales to reach RIAA Gold for the album (RIAA album Gold threshold)[21]
Verified22The RIAA Platinum threshold for albums is 1,000,000 units (RIAA methodology)[21]
Verified23The RIAA Multi-Platinum threshold for albums is multiples of 1,000,000 units (RIAA methodology)[21]
Verified24RIAA Gold threshold for singles is 500,000 units (RIAA methodology)[21]
Directional25RIAA Platinum threshold for singles is 1,000,000 units (RIAA methodology)[21]
Single source26The US Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifies US units based on sales plus streaming equivalents (RIAA methodology)[21]
Verified27In 2012, “We Are Young” was the top-selling song in the US digital format (Billboard year-end digital songs chart)[14]
Verified28In 2012, “We Are Young” was the #1 Hot 100 song by Billboard’s year-end points (Billboard year-end Hot 100 songs chart)[12]
Verified29“We Are Young” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated February 4, 2012? (Billboard chart history with week of peak)[6]
Directional30“We Are Young” first entered Billboard Hot 100 at No. 87 (Billboard chart history entry)[6]
Single sourcePerformance Metrics Interpretation
From peaking at No. 1 on the Hot 100 within just 9 weeks and spending 20 weeks on the chart, FUN.’s We Are Young also went on to earn 9× Platinum for 9 million units and was the top-selling US digital song of 2012.
References
- 1socialbakers.com/blog/social-media-music-industry-benchmarking-2016
- 2billboard.com/music/music-news/fun-bands-streaming-numbers-2018-8470605/
- 6billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/hot-100/
- 10billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/canadian-hot-100/
- 11billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/mai/
- 12billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/hot-100-songs/
- 13billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/tlp/
- 14billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/digital-songs/
- 15billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/top-billboard-200-albums/
- 20billboard.com/music/fun/chart-history/hot-100/
- 22billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/hsi/
- 23billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/atl/
- 24billboard.com/artist/fun/chart-history/hrt/
- 3allmusic.com/album/some-nights-mw0002417937
- 18allmusic.com/album/some-nights-mw0002417937/credits
- 19allmusic.com/song/we-are-young-feat-janelle-m%C3%B4n%C3%A1e-mt0041046946
- 25allmusic.com/song/some-nights-mt0041046967
- 4socialblade.com/youtube/user/vevo
- 5youtube.com/watch?v=RokfP3q6V1A
- 7officialcharts.com/albums/fun-some-nights/
- 8riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Some+nights&col=title&ord=asc
- 9riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=We+Are+Young&col=title&ord=asc
- 21riaa.com/gold-platinum/
- 16setlist.fm/setlists/fun-6bd5d4dd.html
- 17britannica.com/biography/Jack-Antonoff